 From the Aloft Hotel Providence Series with models cheri white and Julie Spadola.
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 Someday we'll all start laughing
and roll on the ground when we realize how funny it's been. ~Kerouac  “Upon Further Examination . . .” How do people become invisible or ignorable in plain sight? .... The eye of power simply flits by too fast to register the powerless …. powerlessness makes oppressed groups invisible. Ageism, as a kind of superiority complex, makes the old appear unworthy of attention when they obtrude. ~Gullette The marriage of a photography proof form the 3D “Gray Groom” Series and a 1905 eye examination machine practically made itself. Reflecting on my mom and dad who faded from existence in their last moments, still vibrant on the inside, yet were not “seen” as complete individuals who had needs (don’t we all at any age?). Here's the paradox and the irony of it all: When people refuse to "see" old people, they are actually erasing their own reflection in the mirror of time. They are dooming themselves in coming years to the same debilitating social treatment by others.  “Upon entering Studio Place Arts, viewers can't help but be lured straight to the giant cube toward the back of the gallery. Rather excessively titled, "Outside the Box: Attitude—Hopeless Reassurance," by Matthew J Peake and David Lee Black features six large archival pigment prints, one on each of the cube's sides. A pyramidal base holds the cube aslant; every plane of the work is framed in aluminum rails. The construction is a study in geometry and balance, but it's the photos' intriguing human content that captures the imagination.
The artist's sleight of hand is so remarkable that the viewer is delighted to be "tricked." The images are all of the same couple — a white man with his outstretched arms placed on the shoulders of a Black woman. He looks directly at her face; she looks down. Both of them are dressed in a white shirt and black pants. The backdrop is bright blue, a sterile setting that seems to glare at the psychological ambiguity here. Peake, a former physician turned full-time artist, "plays" with the viewer's perception in two ways: Each photo shows the same couple from a different physical perspective, including overhead and underneath; and the pair's facial expressions and body language suggest a number of possible interactions, all influenced by parameters of gender and race. The piece is something of a triumphant cipher.”   I have artwork that has been juried into this national exhibit.
Cool free opening this Sunday in a north shore town with a funny name! “Guardian” “On the left side of a strong woman, stands a strong man; he is strengthened by her character.” ~Ellen J. Barrier Powerful, beautiful and compassionate, the model portrayed all of these traits in the historic Graduate Providence Hotel of Providence, RI. Not so randomly during the creative process, Freyo, our friend and bartender from the hotel pub walked by and I asked him to pause and pose. This vividly alive moment was subsequently created. The backstory is, shortly after this spontaneous, he was tragically lost from us but his spirit remains. No feeling is final.  During deep Covid times, I was allowed to photograph inside the historic Graduate Providence Hotel, formerly the Biltmore with the wildly talented Eugenia Zinovieva from Festival Ballet.
 “Still Pointe”
But once in a while the odd thing happens, Once in a while the dream comes true, And the whole pattern of life is altered, Once in a while the moon turns blue. ~WH Auden Ribbons pink and loose, these gifted “dead” pointe shoes from countless ballet photo shoots have long awaited another chance at an artful life. These shoes didn’t come from a pain-free or dreams-come-true life. Handmade, these bits of lace, cardboard and glue made the journey from hours of a paroxysm of perfect twisting, twirling and tiptoeing across the stage, peering down at the dancer’s feet and mistaking their lean mysteries for possibilities in syncopation. This end of the ballet, an assemblage of memories almost famous, lives on , elevated and proud; instead of a gradual sinking to the floor . . .  “Counting Backwards”
This series celebrates the journey of women growing old gracefully. In our society, there is often a negative stigma attached to aging and it can be particularly harsh for women. Perhaps celebrate the unique experiences and wisdom that women gain as they age. Inspire a shift in perception, encouraging society to recognize and appreciate the beauty of growing old gracefully.  The human body is strange and flawed and unpredictable. The human body has many secrets, and it does not divulge them to anyone, except those who have learned to wait.
~Auster |
June 2023
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